Depth
by KageFuego4
Summary: Sometimes, there's only so much a single person can do. Perhaps, that was what drew him to Akatsuki in the first place. Chances were, it could've also been the fact that he was surrounded and couldn't possibly hope to escape with his life. Shikamaru only had so many options open to him.
1. Things have gone a bit Differently

Disclaimer - No. This applies to all of the following chapters.

* * *

It could be said that Minato Namikaze, by surviving the otherwise certain death dealt to him at the hands of the Kyuubi and his own Dead Demon Sealing Technique, imbuing their infant son Naruto with the Kyuubi's Yang chakra.

However, credit would have to also be given to one Kushina Uzumaki, for managing to exchange the remains of her weakened soul and the entirety of the Kyuubi's Yin chakra as a sacrifice, rather than her husband's own soul.

Of course, both Minato and Kushina were promptly impaled in retribution by the very demon having its chakra split in two.

Needless to say, that day, Hiruzen Sarutobi bore witness to the wails of both an infant Jinchuuriki & a widowed Hokage on the verge of death.

The healing prowess of the medical Anbu, two months of constant medical supervision, a tearful plea from one sage to another and three more months of medical supervision saw Minato return from the brink.

Scars and permanent wounds would remain, but Konoha would still have their Fourth Hokage.

As always, Konoha and the land of fire itself would rebuild, growing stronger in the process. The Fourth Hokage would recover, not as good as new, but more than enough to govern his village and always just enough to raise his son.

Of course, politics were politics and the people of Konoha could only just barely tolerate the reminder of just how close their home came to destruction. Grudges would never be completely hidden, a father who ruled as Hokage could only be in so many places at once and a child received undeserved mistreatment at the hands of the people his father protected.

* * *

Even with Minato's survival, the Uchiha were still implicated to have had a hand in the Kyuubi incident.

Although he was able to prove that the clan itself had no hand in the event, the fact remained that a Uchiha was responsible. Thus, despite all of the efforts made, a rift gradually formed between the Uchiha clan and the rest of the village.

Outraged, Fugaku Uchiha, head of the clan, devised a strategy in which the Uchiha would wrest control of the entire village. He sent his eldest son, Itachi Uchiha, to spy and retrieve pertinent information on the rest of the village with his prominent position in the Anbu.

Itachi on the other hand, passed this information along to the Hokage, becoming a double agent, in the hopes of finding a way to peaceably and diplomatically resolve the growing situation.

Unfortunately, Danzo Shimura becomes aware of the situation as well. With his machinations, he crafts a ploy of his own, intending to quietly erase those that would dare to threaten the safety of his village.

Catching wind of this, Shisui Uchiha confronts Danzo, in the hopes of dissuading him. Both are nearly killed when the negotiation devolves into an altercation, costing Shisui and Danzo an eye both.

Disillusioned by the serious injury of one of their most talented members, a portion of the clan loses faith in Fugaku's plan, creating a rift in the clan. This new camp slowly amasses more support as the accusations and mistrust of Uchiha begin to dwindle, stalling the coup.

With both groups at an impasse, Itachi appeals to his father to end his plans, unwittingly exposing his status as a double agent and coming to blows with his father. The battle makes its way into the clan streets, inciting both parties to act.

In a single day, the Uchiha population dwindles to a little over a third of its original size, with members either fleeing the village, falling under arrest or outright dying. Fugaku is arrested, while the remaining clan members appoint Itachi as the new Head.

With the coup thwarted, the diminished Uchiha clan will slowly regain its strength, in an attempt to reach its former glory.

Young Sasuke has yet to forgive the idol that was his brother, for putting their father away.

Akatsuki never made contact with Itachi.

* * *

These core events led to the smaller changes that would later occur.

Although, just as many things would always remain the same.

Tsunade chooses to stay in Konoha, after treating Minato

Naruto was still coerced into obtaining the forbidden scroll, as his father looked on in annoyance. The scroll was minor, compared to others and Mizuki's goals needed to be known.

Sasuke pursues his brother with a single-minded focus, if only to surpass him & move onto other goals.

Sasuke does receive Orochimaru's "gift" during the Chuunin exams.

Sunagakure is fooled by Orochimaru into assaulting the leaf during the exams. The Sannin face off during the invasion, resulting in the retreat of a heavily injured Orochimaru. Naruto & Gaara do confront, with similar results.

Akatsuki's movements are less public. Not that this prevents Jaraiya from unearthing some of their motives & relaying what little he knows.

Sasuke does not defect. He is however, kidnapped by the sound four. Shikamaru's hastily prepared squad does manage to recover the Uchiha in time, with assistance from Sunagakure.

Naruto is coerced into his two year trip with Jaraiya, in order to improve upon his existing skills and for the basics of sage skills to be passed on.

Gaara's Bijuu is extracted, but his body is recovered. He still lives and breathes as Kazekage, due to Chiyo's Sacrifice.

The use of Sai as a spy is never implemented. Root does exist.

Asuma Sarutobi still falls against Hidan & Kakuzu, who later meet their own respective fates.

Jaraiya is still killed by Pein. Pein does not succeed in leveling Konoha, unable to accurately gauge the combat potential of the entire village. Naruto does inevitably kill Nagato after their discussion on the ethics, origin & cycle of hatred.

Konoha rebuilds. Time passes. The fatherless child of Asuma and Kurenai is born.

The spotlight is thrown onto Shikamaru Nara.

* * *

A.N. - And that's the state of things. If you feel I may have overlooked something or a bit more of an explanation is needed, don't hesitate to send a PM or leave a question in a review, if need be. Here's to hoping this attempt is up to par with my original (lost & gone for good) version, if not better.


	2. A Promotion

Shikamaru Nara had an epiphany.

How this divine revelation happened to come upon him is a sad tale of laziness, pride, foolish well-intentioned acts and an expensive skill-set. In truth, the first two factors could likely be lumped together. The last two factors are quite important as well, though. The final point, however, is what brought about such understanding.

Nara Shikamaru was a broke bastard. Of course, he should've seen the signs long ago.

But, as most issues are wont to do, things started out innocently enough.

The birth of Kurenai and the late Asuma's daughter, Yuzuki, was met with much fanfare. Friends, family & even acquaintances all got at least something for the new child. Shikamaru himself may have even spent a bit more than he expected to.

Having a fair amount of money saved up, coupled with the fact that he lived with his parents at the tender age of sixteen, Shikamaru figured he was due for a vacation anyway. And so, the Nara heir spent the next few months lavishing the infant with useful materials as well as generally lounging about, taking the occasional mission every so often solely due to requests.

It was during one such mission, that Shikamaru truly discovered the remarkable range of uses an explosive tag could serve. Imagine what wonders the liberal application of explosive tags to one's shinobi duties could achieve, Shikamaru marveled.

Time passed once more, Yuzuki had grown from an infant and into a fully functioning toddler. It had long since become knowledge that Shikamaru was devoted to the girl, a common source of amusement among his peers.

Now twenty years of age, Shikamaru had come across a completely different set of difficulties. Confronted by his parents, it would seem that the time had come for him to spread his wings and take flight on his own (read: he was kicked out) as a man. Unaware of the crisis & too naïve to realize the predicament he had been thrown into, Shikamaru merely shrugged in acquiescence.

It was then, that the Nara heir realized the situation he was truly in. He had nowhere near enough money to purchase a home within the Nara compounds. This of course, was a normal thing, as the majority of youth from even the most prominent of clans usually set about living on their own in simple apartments to establish themselves. Fortunately, Shikamaru had more than enough money to pay for the deposit of one such domicile.

The necessary furnishings for such a small living area were easily acquired and set without much fanfare. Before anyone (aside from Chouji) could know of the Nara's relocation could be informed, Shikamaru had to deal with one more issue. His funds had all but dried up. Paying for the month's actual rent would be a problem. The occasional B-Rank mission a Chuunin could get wouldn't be enough to get him off of the ground and into a respectable plot on Nara lands for a considerable amount of time, either.

Had he seen the signs and saved up, as Chouji –who planned to move out at a later date- had, he had a feeling he wouldn't be in such a bind. After much discussion with his close friend, Shikamaru had come to have his epiphany.

* * *

"Money, is the single most important resource in the world" he moaned to the Akimichi.

"Come now, don't say that Shika" Chouji warned. "There are multitudes of things that are important and work towards living a content life" he stated.

"All of which can be obtained through money. I am well aware, Cho" Shikamaru deadpanned.

"We'll get back to this" Chouji sighed, choosing to postpone this debate. "But first, back to figuring out how you plan on coming up with the rent for this place" he declared.

"I could take on a group of missions at once…." Shikamaru grumbled. Chouji simply stared, his face conveying exactly how much stock he took in that idea. "Alright" Shikamaru sighed, "no, I probably wouldn't" he admitted.

"Well…." Chouji began, scratching the back of his head in discomfort. "There is one foolproof way to make enough money to support yourself, with a minimal amount of missions" he finished, looking anywhere but at the Nara.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the Akimichi, already aware of where this was going.

"Bounty hunting is a relatively lucrative venture" Shikamaru offered, dodging the subject.

"You know what I'm suggesting, Shika" he sighed.

"Don't be troublesome, Chouji" Shikamaru sighed as well. "You know as well as I do, that doing something like that will mean I can't change my mind later" he mumbled, rubbing his temples.

"Come on Shikamaru!" Chouji groaned. "You're already-" the window abruptly chose this moment to slide open.

"Just become a damned Jounin already, Nara!" a new voice interrupted.

"Of all the people" Shikamaru sighed. Chouji merely nodded his head in greeting.

"Don't drop the discussion on my account" Temari of the Sand greeted the duo, climbing into the room. "Hmm, this isn't too bad of a place you've got here" Temari observed, taking stock of the furnishings.

"It's a standard two bedroom apartment, Temari" Shikamaru deadpanned.

"Why three couches?" the heiress queried, pointing out the three seats surrounding a simple table while ignoring Shikamaru.

"Well, the three of us like to take up a space of our own" Chouji replied, indicating Shikamaru sprawled across one couch and his own leisurely position in the middle of another. "Ino likes to sit in a similar fashion" he elaborated.

"I'm surprised there's no crib or playpen for little Yuzuki" Temari chuckled, setting her large fan down and claiming the third couch as her own.

"That's what I said!" Chouji added, joining in Temari's laughter. Shikamaru scowled.

"How did you find this place, Temari?"

"Were you hiding, or something?" Temari smirked. "The first person I asked knew where to find you" she replied.

"….Troublesome women" Shikamaru groaned, eying Chouji. "You told Ino?"

"No" Chouji replied, looking away. "She already knew."

Shikamaru sighed.

"Back to the problem at hand!" Temari clapped once. "So I hear you'll be taking the jounin exam, Shikamaru?"

"Whoever told you that, is a liar and should be imprisoned" Shikamaru replied.

"Come on Shika" Chouji groaned. "You know as well as everyone else, that you've qualified to take the Jounin exam years ago" he reasoned.

"Four years, to be exact" Temari clarified, crossing her legs and leaning back in her seat.

"Again, why are you here?" Shikamaru repeated. 'I can see she wasted no time in making herself comfortable' he noted.

"What, a friend can't come and visit?" the Suna Kunoichi feigned hurt. "Or is this get together a 'guys only' thing?" she teased.

"Thinking about it" he grumbled. Temari smirked as Chouji rolled his eyes.

"Here I am, tired after a long trek from home with a message to give your Hokage" Temari began "when I happen to discover that a dear friend of mine, has decided to strike out on his own" she snickered. "Of course, I simply had to drop everything and investi-"

"Hold on a minute" Chouji interrupted.

"Hmm?"

"You're in Konoha on business, then?" Shikamaru sighed. Temari blinked.

"Yeah, why?" she asked.

Shikamaru stared at the woman for a moment, unblinking.

"Quit your scowling" she growled.

"Where are your…. escorts?" Chouji asked, timid.

"Ditched 'em" Temari shrugged. "They're terrible company, you know. No good conversation or anything" she ranted. "It's all 'as you wish Sabakuu-sama' this or 'I live to be of service Temari-sama' that" she sighed, imitating male and female voices respectively.

"You can't just go around leaving them on a whim, Temari" Shikamaru groaned, rubbing his temples. "Now I probably have Anbu all over my house or something" he muttered. "Not to mention I'll have to put off visiting Yuzuki, because some people can't leave me be" he eyed Chouji "or think it's cool to lead Anbu and angry Suna ninja to my door" Temari shrugged.

"I think they're great" Chouji replied, smiling. "To the Hokage's tower, to see him about that Jounin exam, now?" he suggested. Shikamaru scowled at his portly best friend.

"Yeah, let's go" he sighed, languidly standing to his feet and walking to the door, the others followed suit.

Upon opening the door, he came face to face with two Suna ninja (a scowling Kunoichi and smiling male ninja) and an Anbu with their arms crossed.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the trio, looked towards Temari who merely shrugged, back to the trio, towards Chouji who also shrugged and then back to the trio.

The Kunoichi's scowl grew more pronounced, as did Shikamaru's. With a stiff bow, she prompted

"I would humbly ask of y-"

"We'll be at the tower" Shikamaru interrupted, abruptly closing the door on the woman.

"Not dealing with this" the Nara muttered, motioning for Chouji and Temari to follow as he leaped from the window Temari had entered from.

"You really dislike the idea of becoming a jounin, that much?" Chouji noted as he and Temari leaped across the rooftops on opposite sides of Shikamaru.

Shikamaru grunted. Chouji nodded in sympathy. Temari was still laughing at the situation.

"Ah, company" Chouji announced, as the three ninja they'd abandoned joined them.

"Was that necessary?" the Anbu asked, sounding more amused than annoyed. The male Suna ninja simply chuckled. The Kunoichi ignored them all, leaping beside Temari.

"So, what do you need?" Chouji asked the Anbu.

"Ah, I just had to help these two find their charge" they answered, nodding towards Temari. "Now that that's been settled, good day" the Anbu vanished in a flurry of leaves.

"Are all Leaf shinobi showoffs, too?" the Suna Kunoichi grumbled to Temari.

"Well-" she began

"Pretty much" Chouji chuckled, as a flurry of leaves settled in the spot Shikamaru was last seen in. "Ah, Shika's gone on ahead of us, then" he gestured in the direction of the tower.

"He ran" Temari muttered. The other Kunoichi smiled.

"Good riddance, the jerk" she offered. Temari rolled her eyes.

"Easy now, Kyo" the heiress warned. "He may be a jerk-"

"But I'd rather you didn't go around insulting my friend" Chouji added, killing intent causing the air around the group to thicken. Kyo and her companion broke into a cold sweat, unconsciously bracing for an attack.

"My companion would like to apologize" the other man replied, no longer smiling. Chouji's eyes narrowed on him. The man gulped.

"Then all is forgiven!" the Akimichi cheered, all tension vanishing in an instant, leaving the two Suna shinobi disoriented.

"Wha-"

"All Konoha shinobi are showoffs, remember?" Temari yawned, unaffected. "He was just messing with you" she assured them. "Well, somewhat" she amended.

Chouji grinned.

"So, your name is Kyo, then?" he asked the Kunoichi, who then cursed.

"Temari-sama" she whined. "I wished to remain anonymous within the village" she droned.

"I'm sorry Kyo" Temari replied, sounding indifferent the entire time. "If it makes you feel better" she pointed at the still unnamed man "his name's Souta" she informed Chouji.

"Souta Kato" the man added.

"A pleasure to meet you" Chouji offered.

"Likewise" the man nodded.

"Well, since I came all the way here" Chouji began, as they reached the tower. "I may as well escort you inside, too" he smiled.

"Lead the way" Temari motioned with her hand.

* * *

"So, how can I help you, Shikamaru?" Minato Namikaze, the fourth Hokage asked. "Any reason to put this paper work off" he motioned to the stacks of paper cluttering his desk "is a welcome change of pace" he sighed.

"Yeah" Shikamaru sighed, scratching at the back of his head. "Some things have come up" he began, searching for the proper way to phrase his request "and, well-"

"Just spit it out!" Minato laughed.

"How do I go about becoming a Jounin?" Shikamaru grumbled.

Minato stared, awed not by the request, but the fact that it came from the unlikeliest of people.

"Well" he grinned sheepishly "you'll either think this is hilariously convenient, or" he trailed off, looking around the room nervously. Shikamaru frowned.

"Or, what?" he prompted. Minato chuckled uncomfortably, causing Shikamaru to narrow his eyes. "Did you arrange something behind my back?" he ventured.

"Now, you see" Minato began, searching for the proper words. "You've been recommended for the Jounin Exam by quite a few people" he informed Shikamaru, stalling.

"And what's so important about that?"

"Funnily enough, you've taken multiple Jounin exams, in the field" Minato stated. Shikamaru blinked. "And passed all of them" he chuckled.

"What?"

"You're a jounin!" Minato cheered. "Congratulations" he added, tossing a book to the still stunned Nara.

"….What?" Shikamaru drawled, absently catching the tome.

"It's your bingo book, of course. Within, you will find the seal required to access the update database. You are required to memorize the list of current missing-nin. You can carry it around and peruse the other entries afterwards if you want, but now that I've given it to you, guess whose name has been added to the raffle for training Genin" the Hokage teased. Shikamaru groaned.

"All I wanted was a way to make a bit more money" he lamented. Minato guffawed.

"I know a great way for you to do that" he smiled. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Stop ignoring those letters the daimyo sends every year, for starters" he smirked.

"You're telling me to become a guard for the Daimyo?" Shikamaru asked, skeptical. Minato shrugged.

"I'm just saying, keep the option in mind" he urged. "If it's you, I wouldn't be surprised if you become one of the twelve guardian ninja" he added, completely honest. "I know Asuma has told you the same thing, but that would be the perfect way to refine your own skills and learn new things along the way. It's practically required" he finished.

"I'm well aware" Shikamaru sighed. "I just don't –" Minato interrupted.

"I'm not saying you have to give me an answer now" he held his hand up for Shikamaru to stop speaking. "Besides, the decision is yours to make, alone" he folded his hands. "On a different note, with your promotion comes a mission, the expected difficulty is said to be A-ranked" his tone serious.

"What are the specifics?" Shikamaru asked, all traces of lethargy gone. Minato nodded towards the door.

"This will be a joint mission with Suna" Minato informed him. "The others should be waiting outside, now" he motioned for Shikamaru to open the door.

As expected, Temari and her two escorts were let in.

"Oh, so you did actually come here?" Temari smirked. Shikamaru slouched.

"I figured they would be the team" he sighed. Temari raised an eyebrow at the remark, and then noticed the book in his hand.

"If you're being told about the mission, I assume you'll also be taking part in it, then?" she deduced. Kyo cursed.

"Ah, excuse me for speaking out of hand" Souta bowed to Minato. "I mean no disrespect to Nara-san or his skills" he began. "However, I was informed that our support from Konoha would consist of a jounin level shinobi" he eyed Shikamaru skeptically. "Fairly recent conversation has lead me to believe that he is of Chuunin rank, the same as myself and Mori-san" he finished.

"Funny story" Shikamaru drawled "I've been recently promoted" he informed the trio. "So, I outrank the two of you, now" he shrugged. Temari grinned.

"Now, was that so difficult?" she teased. Shikamaru sighed again.

"It found a way to be troublesome" he replied. "Now, the mission details?" he prompted.

"Of course" Temari straightened, handing a scroll to Minato. "Roughly five days ago, a team of shinobi defected from our village, taking an extremely important artifact with them, killing several guards and wounding a handful of civilians during their escape" she informed them. "The team currently following them sent a message explaining that they have fled and are currently hiding here, within the Land of Fire."

"Which is where we, or more importantly, I, come in?" Shikamaru asked. Temari nodded. "Wouldn't it make more sense to send someone more proficient in tracking, then?" the Nara asked Minato.

"Your sensory skills are more than adequate"

"Nowhere near the level of any Yamanaka or Hyuuga" Shikamaru remarked.

"While this is true" Minato agreed "they have not requested our assistance in tracking the runaways."

"We already have people for that" Temari answered. "We just need someone to" Shikamaru interrupted.

"Accompany you, to state that you aren't trespassing, as well as not die, should the encounter with your missing-nin turn ugly" he filled in. "I've been given an escort mission, then" he summed up. "This'll be…. troublesome" he drily stated.

"In a nutshell" Temari shrugged.

"Very well then" Minato nodded to the four ninja. "You all leave within the hour, I presume?" he asked, looking towards Temari.

"The sooner the better" she confirmed.

"Then you are all dismissed" he declared. "Good luck."

* * *

A.N - Issues with the content, writing style, character portrayal? Let me know. Leave a review, comment, send a PM. Hell, I'll take the flames if it means that people are reading to the end of the chapters.


	3. Planning

"Ah, I see you've got a mission with Temari" Chouji greeted Shikamaru as he and Temari's team exited the Hokage's office. Kyo and Souta eyed the Akimichi warily.

"Meet us at the gate in ten minutes" Temari told him, ushering her escorts away.

"You gave them the usual routine?" Shikamaru asked the Akimichi.

"Was it that obvious?" Chouji chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow at this.

"They were practically shaking in their boots the second they saw you" Shikamaru noted.

"It sort of just, happened?" Chouji shrugged. Shikamaru shook his head, smirking.

"You'll have to tell me what happened, when I get back" Shikamaru said "but right now, I have to get my things" he sighed.

"Good luck" Chouji pat him on the back, jostling the Nara.

"Thanks, with my company, I'll probably need it" Shikamaru nodded, moving to leap home. "Oh yeah" he stopped.

"Hmm?" Chouji asked. Shikamaru grinned.

"I've been promoted" he replied, disappearing with a flourish of leaves.

Chouji whooped.

* * *

"Alright, we should catch up to the tracking group within a day, two at most" Temari announced, five minutes out of the gate from Konoha. "That should give us plenty of time to go over strategies and contingencies for when we encounter the fugitives." She eyed Shikamaru, whose eyes had become focused, serious.

"How many are we up against?" Shikamaru asked.

"Seven, all of Chuunin level, save for the Jounin ringleader" Temari answered.

"Are they expected to meet up with reinforcements?"

"Unknown. Although, the group was reported to have been simply wandering, visiting villages every so often" Temari mused.

"How many trackers are on them?"

"Two, in order to minimize any chances of discovery" she added. "No" she continued "they aren't expected, nor have they been tasked with assisting us when we combat the runaways" Temari continued, anticipating Shikamaru's question.

"You're expected to take on seven shinobi with no backup?" Shikamaru remarked, quirking an eyebrow. Temari smirked.

"Scared?" Temari grinned.

"I hope you aren't biting off more than you can chew, again" Shikamaru shot back. Kyo scoffed.

"You'd do well not to underestimate Temari-sama" she advised. "I wonder how someone like you became a Jounin anyway, expected to be on par with a person of her caliber" the Kunoichi sneered. "To be honest, I just hope you can at least keep up with us" she finished, shaking her head.

Shikamaru and Temari continued their conversation unhindered. Souta tapped Kyo on the shoulder.

"I doubt they heard a single thing you've said" he sighed to her. "Rather than worship the ground Sabakuu-sama walks, perhaps you should contribute to the strategy session going on at the moment" he suggested, turning back to the discussion.

"Ah, done mumbling to yourself?" Temari asked. Kyo nodded sheepishly. "Good, now pay attention" she scolded.

"Now, what skills are the two of you proficient in?" Shikamaru asked. "I'm already well aware of Temari's general list of abilities and how they could work with my own. However, I'll need to know what you can do, in order to come up with possible ideas" he informed them.

"Ah, I am well versed in a variety of wind based jutsu, primarily close and short range" Souta stated. "Is that adequate?" Shikamaru nodded.

"That was broad enough, I suppose" he allowed. "Now, what about you?" he asked, turning to Kyo.

"Basic wind jutsu and a fair amount of earth jutsu" she replied.

"Supplementary, offensive or defensive?" Shikamaru asked. Kyo raised an eyebrow.

"Come again?"

"Your earth jutsu" Shikamaru specified. "What's the primary focus?" he repeated. Kyo huffed.

"Why didn't you ask Souta whether or not his jutsu were offensive or defensive, then?" she asked. Souta nodded in agreement. Temari rolled her own eyes.

"Most wind jutsu are offensively oriented, especially when close ranged" Shikamaru answered. "I don't see any particularly unique weapons on him, so his skills are likely to rely upon enhancing basic weapons with his wind nature and bombarding the enemy with swift Taijutsu or surprising them with quickly cast wind jutsu" Shikamaru deduced. "Is that about right?" he asked. Souta nodded slowly.

"Those are the general tactics, yes." Shikamaru looked back to Kyo.

"Now, your earth jutsu are mainly-?" he prompted.

"Don't milk it, Nara" Temari warned him. "I am still the captain here" she smirked.

"I won't deny your…. seniority" Shikamaru smirked.

"Are you perhaps, implying something?" Temari grinned, dangerously. A bead of sweat slid down Shikamaru's brow.

"Nope" he replied, quickly turning to face Kyo. "One more time, your jutsu?" he repeated.

"Mostly offensive, close to short range" she replied. Shikamaru sighed.

"So, you can see why we came to Konoha, now?" Temari asked.

"I can see how these two could work alright with your own jutsu" Shikamaru grumbled "But, the chuunin should be your support, not the other way around" Temari nodded.

"This is where you come in" she sighed. "A Jounin running support, along with these two as clean up should be more than enough."

"That should be fine for an initial move" Shikamaru agreed. "But what do they know" he mused. "Are they aware that they're being tracked?"

"Doubtful, though it could be a ruse" Temari allowed.

"Known jutsu?"

"Wind jutsu of all varieties, three know earth, one has some knowledge of water jutsu, their medic can use a small number of lightning jutsu and the jounin is well versed in fire and wind jutsu" Temari recited. "Of course, the records don't list all of the things they know" she reminded him. "Do any of you have something to add?" Temari looked to the other two. Both shook their heads in the negative.

"Well rounded team, they've got" Shikamaru noted. "I knew this was gonna be troublesome" he muttered. "This makes engaging them a lot trickier" Temari nodded.

"Yeah, our best bet would probably be ambushing them in a predetermined spot" she decided.

"But to do that, we'll have to know exactly where they're headed, their method of travel and be able to overtake them without being noticed" he listed. "I doubt they refrained from having anyone at least marginally versed in sensing. I wouldn't be surprised if the sensor turns out to be the jounin itself" he scoffed.

"Masking our chakra should be more than enough to deal with that" Temari offered. "Being out of the sand should hinder them, somewhat, at least" she added. "What's to stop us from acting while they set camp?"

"If they know we're tracking them, or even worse, have people following them closely" it'll be when they're the most alert" Shikamaru reasoned.

"Choosing to be cautious, rather than risk rushing into a reverse ambush?" Temari noted. "But, if we choose to wait until they've let their guards down, we'll likely have to wait until they've found a town or something to rest at, instead."

"If we can catch up to your tracking group before then, we should be able to beat them to the most logical choice of village" Shikamaru reasoned.

"Alright, and when they've been immobilized, we'll need to strike in an instant" Temari informed the chuunin.

"Now here's the difficult part" Shikamaru began.

"Time to go over the contingency plans for if things don't go according to plan" Temari finished. "And they rarely go off without a hitch" she added.

* * *

A.N. - Short chapter, I'm aware. Comments? Dialogue seem forced? Some characters a bit too static or obvious? Let me know.


	4. Encounter

By noon of the next day, Temari's group met with the tracking team.

"Ah, Sabakuu-sama" a male shinobi, garbed with the characteristic desert masks of Suna and a receiver in his ear, bowed.

"Report" Temari commanded, after nodding to the man.

"We've maintained a reasonable distance from the fugitives. For the past few days they have maintained a steady pace heading east, for the most part. No indications have been made as to whether or not we have been discovered, though it is highly unlikely" he finished. Shikamaru produced a map.

"Well, considering where we are" Shikamaru scanned the map. "There are a few small villages and even a town in the general vicinity, if they make no major changes in direction" he noted. "However, we wouldn't be able to beat them there, if they make for the closest location" he informed the group.

"How close is it?" Temari asked.

"What kind of pace have they been keeping" Shikamaru asked the tracker. The man put a hand to his ear.

"Any changes?" he asked. There was a momentary pause, and then the man nodded. "They're traveling at a sedate pace shinobi pace, rather leisurely across the treetops" he responded. Shikamaru scowled.

"They'll be there within the hour, if they decide to stop there" he answered to Temari

"We won't catch up in time, then. Especially if we intend to catch them unawares" she muttered. "Taking them on while in the-" she looked to Shikamaru.

"Village" he provided.

"While in the village" Temari continued "would be highly disadvantageous for us, as well as hazardous to the civilians" she sighed. "They've effectively taken unaware hostages, in a sense."

"It would seem that we'll be waiting them out, then" Shikamaru decided.

"So it would seem" Temari agreed. "It would seem that we'll require your skills for a moment longer" Temari addressed the tracker ninja. Nodding, the man focused on his earpiece.

"Time for a switch, come meet the rest of the team" he spoke. "My partner will be here shortly" he informed the group, leaping away.

"Now then" Temari began. "Time to revise the main plan as well as change a few contingencies" she addressed the group.

* * *

A few minutes after the beginning of their strategy session, the other tracker ninja (a man slightly younger than the first) approached, bowing in the general direction of the group before resting at the base of a tree. Taking note of this, Shikamaru asked

"Exactly how long are the shifts that you two have been maintaining?" he called.

"Ah, approximately every four hours" the younger man answered.

"Ah, would either of you be able to move in relatively close to the targets, in order to discern how long they may be planning to stay, or at least what direction they intend to head in when they leave?" he asked. The man nodded his head slowly.

"There is a chance" he answered. "However, I'm unsure as to whether we can do it without any complications" he continued. "My specialty lies in maintaining surveillance from across a distance, you see. I do believe I could say the same of my partner" he responded apologetically.

"I understand" Shikamaru nodded, sighing.

"This might be your queue, Nara" Temari suggested. "You should be able to get in and out without garnering any suspicion."

"Yeah, yeah" Shikamaru sighed. "Looks like we'll be getting a bit closer to the village after all" he muttered.

"Remain on standby, nearby, should you need to report anything new" Temari instructed the man. "We'll be moving to obtain a vantage point of the village" she informed him, sprinting away as the rest of the group followed.

"Understood" he nodded, relaying the message to his partner and then moving to join the group.

It took a little under half of an hour for the group to reach, with Shikamaru and Temari going over what to do in the event he was spotted or captured.

By the time the village came into view, Shikamaru was already prepared. However, a stray thought came to him. He turned to Temari and asked

"If the unlikely chance presents itself, should I attempt to retake this antique? Or, is neutralizing the runaways a more pressing concern?" he added. Temari remained silent, going over the various possibilities before coming to a conclusion.

"No" she sighed. "What they've taken is an extremely valuable scroll" she informed him. "If you do manage to retrieve it, the others will likely notice quickly, creating a scene and possibly attack the residents in an attempt to slow you down" she reasoned. "We must take out all of the fugitives before we can safely retrieve the scroll" she announced. Shikamaru nodded.

"Alright, I'll be in and ou-" an enormous spike of chakra could be felt from the small village. Shikamaru stared on in confusion. "What the hell?" he muttered.

An explosion erupted from a small inn, four figures burst from the edifice, fire and smoke billowed out of the windows.

Moments later, a winged creature burst from the roof and a second explosion was heard as the building erupted outwards in an explosion of flame and burning wood. The winged creature then began circling the village, raining bursts of lightning down upon the residents, prompting them to run and scream in fear.

The tracker ninja placed a hand to his ear as he received a message, his face paling noticeably.

"They've signed the contract" he informed Temari. Kyo and Souta appeared taken aback by this announcement.

"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru grit out, witnessing the destruction. He was wholly ignored.

"Why?" Temari demanded. "What purpose would that serve?" she clarified. The man listened to his earpiece for a moment, still receiving information.

It would seem that they were meeting with a man dressed in Akatsuki robes" he relayed. "Upon walking into the room, however, a skirmish ensued and three ninja were dispatched" he continued. "The Jounin, most likely, appears to have wasted no time in opening the scroll and signing it" he paused. "As you can see, that is the result" he finished.

"Screw the specifics!" Shikamaru roared. "We need to evacuate the people, now!" he commanded. "I'm ordering you and your partner to assist in the effort as well!" he ordered the tracker. "Move" he insisted, sprinting towards the village. Temari cursed.

"Calm down, Nara!" she called, dashing after him, the other three shinobi following after her.

* * *

'This is bad. This is bad. This is really really bad' Shikamaru reiterated in his head as he reached the village.

'I have no clue what the skill level of this possible Akatsuki member is' he created a shadow clone with a tenth of his chakra and commanded it to begin directing villagers out of the area.

'The fugitives have either fled or are lurking about' he leapt atop a house.

'But most pressing' he jumped to another home nearby, avoiding the bolt of lightning that had crashed into his previous position, blasting a sizeable hole into the roof and setting the rest of the domicile ablaze.

'I have to deal with that' he internally sighed, looking to the sky in order to take note of the man creature cackling at him.

Obviously, this being did not hail from any natural species of animal. At best, it could be considered a large bird that attempted to transform itself into a human but gave up after only partially succeeding.

With the wings of a bird of prey sprouting from the creature's back, scales covering its arms and legs as well as hands and feet, each sporting (surprisingly) five digits, with talons in place of finger and toe nails, the classification was understandable.

Curiously, the thing was garbed in a set of simple blue robes.

Yet it's face is what drew confusion from Shikamaru.

From the top of its head down to where the bridge of the nose was classifiably human enough, with wild hair, a forehead and normally spaced, but oddly colored, eyes. However, the beak of a bird stood prominently in the center of the being's face, jutting outward and curving back to form a mouth with a full set of razor sharp teeth.

A mouth opened wide in order to release another bolt of lightning at the stupefied Nara.

"Pay attention!" Temari roared in Shikamaru's ear, unfurling her fan to the first moon and launching a gust of wind, dispersing the bolt of lightning before it could hit as well as displacing the creature, albeit for but a moment.

Souta and Kyo arrived moments afterwards.

"**Absolutely wonderful, more of you have arrived**" the creature rumbled in a surprisingly sarcastic manner. "**What is the matter**" it asked, amused at the perplexed expressions on all of their faces.

A few villagers also stopped in their tracks, taken aback by the sudden development.

"**I know that you are capable of speech**" it continued. "**Now, I demand that you**" a bolt of lightning arced toward the streets, blasting dirt and fried people into the air "**speak!**" it finished.

"How about you quit with the unnecessary-" Temari began, but the creature tensed, then sped towards the group in a burst of air to stand before her, folding it's wings as it used a single hand to lift the desert princess up by the neck of her outfit.

"**Who are you, to demand something from me?**" it asked. "**You aren't even a contractor**" it scoffed.

At six feet in height, the creature wasn't all that intimidating to Temari, until it began chakra in its mouth.

In reflex the guards moved to protect Temari, but were swatted aside by the air displaced as the creature landed. Shikamaru leaped backwards, but was blown further back instead, somersaulting in order to right himself as he landed on the road below.

"I" Temari gulped nervously. "My name is Temari" she paused for a moment and then added "sir?"

It smiled, allowing the chakra to dissipate.

"**It would seem that you aren't as foolish as the one that dared to summon me**" it allowed, releasing Temari. "**Do not make such a mistake again**" it remarked. "**Now, wench**" the creature addressed Temari "**assist me in locating the foolish woman that would dare to summon and attempt to command me**" it commanded.

* * *

On the road below, before Shikamaru could leap back onto the building, he heard a grunt of pain. Thinking it could possibly be a villager hidden somewhere, he extended his senses outward in an attempt to pinpoint their location.

There, he could feel the immense chakra that was this foreign creature, drawing his immediate attention. Temari right beside it. The two guards already on the way back to the rooftop. But then, in the building below, two refined chakra sources were attempting to mask their signatures.

Of course, at this point Shikamaru had already sent his shadow under the door, connecting with both of the sources and locking them place. After that, he simply kicked the door in, drew a kunai and strolled inside. Temari's conversation with the thing wasn't too hard to hear, given how penetrating the creature's voice happened to be.

Taking in his surroundings, Shikamaru took stock of the disheveled room he had entered and the two female shinobi trapped in a crouch as a result of his shadow.

The gash lazily trickling blood from the thigh of one the Kunoichi would explain why she hadn't fled. Although, that wouldn't explain why this second Kunoichi was still here.

Choosing to ignore them for the time being, Shikamaru decided to examine the room in more detail, which is how his eyes caught sight of a large scroll hidden from view by the two Kunoichi.

"Oh?" Shikamaru mused aloud "that couldn't really be what I think it is" he sighed.

The two Kunoichi remained silent.

"You did just hear that thing mention actively searching for whoever summoned it, right?" he asked.

Silence. Shikamaru groaned.

"Alright, fine then" he rolled his eyes, brandishing his kunai menacingly. "I don't have the time to deal with either of you, anyway" he muttered.

A flare of chakra lanced across his senses, behind him. Quickly spinning about, Shikamaru dove to the ground, rolling out of the path of a shuriken salvo.

"I suggest you step away from my subordinates" a Kunoichi spoke, staggering through the doorway.

'Maybe I should've closed the door' Shikamaru thought, watching as the newest combatant leaned against the door frame, clutching her arm and breathing heavily. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at this.

"You don't look too hot" Shikamaru commented, slowly inching another shadow towards her "don't you think it would've been smarter to escape, or something?" he suggested, deciding to have a few tendrils burrow underground, too. The woman smirked.

"I don't recommend underestimating me" she replied, vanishing as Shikamaru's shadow sped towards her. "I warned you" her voice mocked from behind him, victory lacing her voice. "Now di-" her voice cut off as Shikamaru's tendrils burst from underground, uprooting dirt and wood and launching the woman into the air.

Unable to react, the woman was snatched from the air and ensnared by tendrils of shadow.

"Don't worry" Shikamaru smirked, turning around "I didn't" he finished. "Now, I suppose I should've warned you" he mused aloud, going through a few hand signs and capturing the woman in a simple shadow bind in order to dispel the tendrils "not to underestimate me" he said as a hand of solid shadow coiled around each of the women and grasped their necks.

The Jounin's eyes narrowed, knowing what to expect as one of the women sighed in resignation and the other whimpered in fear.

"May you rot in hell" the woman silently cursed him, a solitary tear fell unbidden down her cheek. Shikamaru shrugged, the hands clenched, gasps and silent sobs filled the room.

Silence.

Shikamaru released the unconscious women, dropping them bonelessly to the ground.

"Gaah!" he groaned, tying them up one by one and removing their weapon pouches. "I hate fighting women" he groused, massaging his temples after he finished. "They knew the risks, what's with the crying" he ranted, picking up the large scroll. "I'm not killing women, Kunoichi or otherwise, if I don't have to" he spoke aloud.

"How chivalrous" a broad man garbed in a black cloak adorned with crimson clouds applauded, wiping a tear from his eye. "I'd also like to thank you for retrieving that scroll" he replied, walking further into the room to stand in front of the doorway, blocking it. "I never expected these girls to be so efficient" he told Shikamaru, looking to each of the three unconscious women.

'Is he really going to monologue at me?' Shikamaru thought.

"The second I moved to take them out, fire and wind was everywhere, that damned bird up top was spitting lightning at me & four of 'em got away" he smirked. "Or so I thought, until I caught one, smacked her around & led me to these three, so graciously detained by you" he laughed.

'Yeah, he's giving me a monologue' Shikamaru sighed internally. 'And I have no escape routes.'

"So, for your kindness" the man continued, flourishing a hand behind him "in exchange for that scroll" he gave a winning smile "I'll let you leave with your life" he offered.

"And if I don't?" Shikamaru smirked, eying the muscles outlined by the cloak as they flexed ever so subtly. The man gave an even wider, almost innocent smile, bombarding Shikamaru with a wave of killer intent so intense a few beads of sweat collected on his brow. Shikamaru reflexively took a step back.

"Oh, please don't" the man replied. "I prefer snatching the things I want from corpses, you see."

"I really should've closed that door" Shikamaru smiled sardonically.

"Allow me" the Akatsuki member obliged, slamming the door shut.

* * *

A.N. - So... Cliché? Interesting?... Review, maybe?


	5. Wounded

'Shikamaru hasn't come back up yet' Temari noted as Souta and Kyo returned to the rooftop, albeit at a distance.

"**Your pawns will prove to be useful tools as well**" the creature commented, eying the two as well. At this, they slowly sidled closer to each other.

"We shall assist you to the best of our abilities" Temari announced, bowing flamboyantly in order to queue in her allies, who quickly bowed as well. "However, may I know the title of the one I shall be…. assisting?" she ventured cautiously, in an attempt to not rile it.

"**But of course!**" it bellowed, stepping back in order to spread its wings and declare "**you may call me lord Torsten, the mighty Tengu of-!**" Temari chose this moment to buffet the creature with a burst of wind from her fan, opened to the third moon. The tengu was blown off of the roof and into the air before managing to disperse the wind with a few wing beats.

'**You would dare?!**' Torsten roared, bewildered and covered from head to toe in shallowly bleeding cuts. Temari whistled.

"That wasn't enough to take it down" Kyo muttered.

"Ohh" Souta tilted his head in wonder "Tengu bleed red, as well" he noted.

"I may have to take it up a notch" Temari mused, smirking.

"**You dare to mock-!**" it was buffeted by another burst of scything winds, falling to the ground in a heap of fathers and blood. Temari peered over the roof.

"You dead, yet?" she called. Torsten shakily stood to his feet.

"**I have decided**" it declared. Temari quirked an eyebrow, tilting her head to the side in feigned innocence.

"Care to share?" she mocked. A single moon was more than enough to counter the following burst of lightning and ruffle the Tengu's feathers.

"**Not dealing with this**" it announced, vanishing in a plume of smoke.

"That went better than I expected it to" Temari commented. Kyo and Souta agreed.

Shikamaru burst through the back of the house with a grunt of pain and cacophony of splinters.

* * *

Shikamaru sighed as he and the unknown Akatsuki man stared each other down. His mind, on the other hand, raged. 'Damn scroll, I doubt this guy is going to give me a chance to drop it and use any jutsu!' he figured. 'Hell, just looking at the guy screams "Taijutsu expert" at me' his eyes narrowed. 'Hell, I'd be surprised if I managed to draw a tanto on this guy before he plows through me.'

"I like that look in your eyes" the man continued to smile. "It means you think you stand a chance" he chuckled, vanishing from sight.

'That's one saving grace, I suppose' Shikamaru sighed internally, managing to block the man's straight punch, but still being thrown backwards, through the wall and into the field behind the home. 'He's so very predictable' with a grunt he rolled to the side, tossing the scroll away from him as he did so.

A crater formed where his head had been moments before.

'Wow, he's fighting with some two-bit martial art, too' Shikamaru scoffed, wincing as he barely sidestepped a follow up kick. 'Then again' he considered, leaving a conspicuous opening in his guard, the man pounced, only to be avoided again, but leaving more destruction in the wake of his simple attack.

'Just one hit, will probably kill me' Shikamaru gulped. The man grinned.

"It seems you'll be a bit more fun than I expected" he laughed. Shikamaru adopted a bored expression.

"Oh, we were supposed to be trying?" he yawned blatantly, drawing his tanto. The man took the bait again. Shikamaru smirked, plunging his blade towards the man's approaching fist. The man smirked as well.

The Nara's eyes widened in horror. The man's fist effortlessly shattered the blade and caught the Nara in the chest as he attempted to step backwards.

Shikamaru skid along the ground in a spiral, coming to rest alongside the scroll he'd tossed moments ago.

"That was impressive" the smiling man acknowledged. "You managed to avoid taking the full brunt of my attack, which is probably why you aren't dead" he noted. "You could've tried lasting a little longer, though" he shrugged. Shikamaru coughed up a clump of blood in reply.

'That shouldn't have hit at all, let alone this deeply!' Shikamaru's mind screamed. Managing to roll onto his side and take stock of his wound, Shikamaru's eyes narrowed in understanding.

The front of his uniform had been completely torn and shredded, showing his heavily bleeding chest, covered in a multitude of apparently deep gashes.

"You coated your fist with wind chakra, then shot it at me?" Shikamaru heaved at the man.

"Oh? Got it in one!" the man applauded, strolling towards the downed Nara. "Of course" he grinned "now I have to kill you" he declared.

Shikamaru eyed the scroll. 'Well, I won't get the chance to cast any jutsu anyway' he reasoned. 'Losing as much blood as you are, you can probably only manage one jutsu before you pass out anyway' his mind replied. The Nara began chuckling, his ribs hurt.

"I knew I liked you" the man chuckled as well, pausing in his stride to the Nara. "You seem to get how ridiculous all of thi-"

"Shut up" the Nara spat, tossing a tagged kunai at the man, who lazily leaped backwards.

"What was that supposed t-?" a flash of light erupted from the kunai, surprising the man for a moment

"Back off!" Temari roared, launching a wave of wind at the man as the light grenade went off.

Shikamaru had vanished, when the light and dust had cleared. Turning to the roof, the man smiled, radiating killing intent at Temari and the two shinobi beside her. The princess snarled, wild eyed and furious as she let loose killing intent of her own.

"Cover me" she commanded her guards. 'Shikamaru didn't look too good' she reflected, launching a burst of scything winds at the man, simply standing there. 'I'll have to end this quickly' she resolved, watching as the attack simply bounced off of the man in a circular burst of air from his own wind chakra.

"My turn?" the man grinned. Temari swung her fan at the air overhead, causing storm clouds to generate. "I'm decidedly unimpressed" he announced, tilting his head to the side.

With another roar, Temari swung her fan in an even wider arc, unleashing a devastating whirlwind around the man.

"I'm waitin-" the man wheezed suddenly, frantically began to claw at his throat. Glaring at Temari, he took a heavy step forward and the tornado came down upon him.

"What an idiot" Temari sighed, watching her handiwork noisily devastate the immediate surrounding area. Performing a few handsigns, Temari belched a gout of flame at the continuing destruction, causing it to immediately roar anew with a burst of heat that set the field itself aflame, adding to the nightmarish cyclone of flame.

* * *

Moaning in pain, Shikamaru slid to the ground, leaning against the wall of a house. Unceremoniously opening the scroll, he glimpsed the short list of names in the contract, none were even vaguely familiar, although there was a relatively recent addition.

A fresh wave of pain spurred the Nara out of his contemplations in time to notice to the darkening of clouds near the area he just fled. 'I see Temari wasted no time' he chuckled, wincing at the broken ribs.

With no pen on hand, Shikamaru simply dabbed at the blood from his freely bleeding chest, shakily signing his name and pressing his handprint down. With this task completed, the giant scroll was placed within another, much smaller scroll, then placed into a pocket on the Nara's mostly destroyed vest.

"How Troublesome" a familiar voice sighed. Shikamaru's shadow clone landed beside him, cataloguing the Nara's injuries and glimpsing over as a deafening tornado crashed down.

"No time to talk" Shikamaru grunted, slowly going through the seals. The shadow clone raised an eyebrow in confusion at the development.

"When did we get a summon?" it asked anyway.

"Forty seconds ago" Shikamaru grimaced, it even hurt to talk. "After whatever I summon shows up, I'll need you to patch me up and instruct it to go and assist the others" he informed the clone.

"Good luck" the doppelganger nodded as Shikamaru finished, slamming his palm onto the ground and releasing a plume of smoke, then promptly passing out from an intense burning pain around his arm.

The tornado burst into flames in the background as the summon cackled.

"**I do love the sight of chaos in the morning**" a voice commented as the smoke cleared. The Shikamaru clone raised an eyebrow at the sight.

A pale haired, elderly man with an unnaturally extended nose sat cross logged on the ground. A pair of grey wings were folded upon it's back. The man raised an arm in greeting, the pastel gray loosely fitting robes he wore slid down, revealing a wrinkled arm and hand with menacing talons in place of fingernails.

"Who is this old thing supposed to help?" the clone murmured, moving to begin bandaging the original.

"**I think you should take back what you said, clone**" the elderly man suggested in a frosty tone "**or you may find the body that summoned me missing a few important details**" he hinted, idly picking at the sash of pom-poms around his shoulder. The hairs on the back of the clone's neck stood on end.

"Ah, my apologies, wise sir" the clone bowed deeply. "My original wasn't able to inform me of the situation before you were summoned, please forgive my folly" it bowed once more. 'Why the hell is he threatening our life!?" the clone screeched internally. 'What were we expecting to summon?' he thought, staring at the unconscious Shikamaru, only partially wrapped in bandages.

"**No worries**" the man allowed, all traces of malice having vanished. "**Now do tell, what is it that you need me to kill?**" it asked. "**I'm a very busy man, after all and I've decided not to kill you, since the situation appears to be rather dire**" he explained. "**Besides, it has been a while since any Tengu were summoned**" it added.

'It was going to kill us' the clone began to sweat. 'Is sending it to Temari really a good idea?' it contemplated. 'Unfortunately' the Tengu looked from him to the blazing tornado, then back, expectedly 'I don't think it'll take anything else for an answer' he sighed.

A pillar of flame and dirt erupted from a home.

"I would be in your debt, if you would head in that direction and aid my allies" the clone explained, describing Temari and her two guards. Small explosions and impacts could be heard.

"**Very well**" the Tengu replied, standing a little under six feet due to a slightly hunched back. "**Let's have a bit of fun, now**" it chuckled, taking to the air, displacing dirt and grass with the force of a single beat his wings.

* * *

Temari cursed, allowing the jutsu she had wrought to die out.

"Get ready to move" she warned the other two. "I think he managed to get underground" she informed them.

"Then, he's running off?" Souta asked. Temari scoffed.

"I doubt he's anywhere near hurt enough to warrant fleeing" she replied. Kyo looked worried.

"If he's underground, he'll probably try to get at us from-"

"Move!" Temari shouted, leaping from the house and onto the scorched field she created, Souta and Kyo landing on opposite sides of her.

Amidst a swirling column of flame, the man from Akatsuki burst through the top of the house and landed onto the field. Standing straight, the man coughed a few times.

"How unexpected" he declared, laughing amidst the coughs. "I never thought I would be the one to use the new feature of these cloaks" he grinned. Although parts of the cloak were heavily scorched if not missing altogether, the man himself seemed relatively unharmed.

Temari's eyes narrowed. 'How can he just walk an attack like that off?' she thought.

"I won't be underestimating you again, little Miss Kazekage's sister" he chuckled, shaking his head. "Your wind nature may actually be a little better than my own" the man commented, approaching the trio.

'Good lord' Temari sighed, readying her war fan 'is he really throwing a monologue at me, or does he have a crush?' she groaned. Souta and Kyo drew a kunai, imbuing them with wind.

"I see you're all ready to begin" he noted, nodding in approval. "Well, let's go, then" he announced, vanishing.

'Too fast!' Temari realized, blocking a fist with her fan and sliding backwards from the impact.

Flashing through hand-signs, Kyo forced the ground beneath the man to cave in as Souta launched a swarm of bladed air currents at him.

Before the ground could envelope him, the Akatsuki member dove towards Souta, the blades of wind harmlessly dissipating as he barreled through them, planting a foot into his chest.

Souta was suspended a few inches off of the ground for but a moment, eyes widened in surprise and pain, before he was launched across the field and into a nearby home with a crash of splintering wood.

Without losing his smile, the man dodged a burst of wind from Temari along with a hail of mud spikes from Kyo, closing the distance to the chuunin Kunoichi before she could react, punching her into the ground and creating small crater.

"So much for them" the smiling man commented, turning to Temari once again. "Now" Temari leapt back to dodge his attack "where were we?" he asked, throwing a series of light jabs at the woman.

'He isn't even going to give me a chance to get some distance!' Temari snarled, doing all she could to dodge and deflect blows with her fan. 'If I could just get some spac-' a blocked kick jarred her arms, knocking the fan out of numbed fingers. 'Shit' she cursed again, ducking a blow that took a few strands of hair and diving out of the way of another.

'This could be bad' Temari sighed, producing a kunai. 'This is all I can do, I suppose' Temari concluded, coating the blade with wind chakra. The man quirked an eyebrow at this display.

"Come on!" Temari challenged "Let's see who cuts who open first!" she declared with a derisive smirk.

"I accept!" he roared, a manic smile plastered on his face. With that, both shinobi charged at each with a roar, intent to skewer their opponent.

Neither combatant noticed the figure rocketing towards them until it had already flown by, barreling into the cloaked man and dragging him through the ground before lifting him into the air and tossing him away.

"**I made it in time to help one of them, at least**" an elderly Tengu muttered, alighting in front of Temari, scrutinizing her.

'I just can't get a break, can I?' Temari sighed, adopting a defensive stance and attempting to discreetly move towards her primary weapon.

"**I mean you no harm, girl**" the Tengu spoke.

"I want to believe you" Temari replied, pointedly staring at the blood soaking a clawed hand "but I may need a bit of verification."

"**I did just assist you in battle, no?**" Temari scoffed.

"The enemy of my enemy is just that, my enemy's enemy" she retorted.

"**Quite wary, you are**" the Tengu commented. "**What is the ally of your ally, then?**" it asked, contemplated for a moment, then asked "**You are the one known as Temari, correct?**"

Temari's eyes widened a fraction. With two of her allies downed and unmoving in plain sight, there weren't too many possible options.

'He wouldn't possibly do something that reckless, right?' Temari calculated. 'Then again' she reasoned 'the way this Tengu arrived was a bit convenient' her eyes narrowed once more.

"Start talking" Temari commanded, retrieving her fan and unfurling it. "What condition was he in when you were summoned?" she prompted.

'**Unconscious**' he chuckled, Temari's grip tightened on the fan '**I had to speak with the clone tending to his injuries**' it shrugged.

"So that guy's still alive" the man in Akatsuki robes groaned, plodding into view, cradling a profusely bleeding and limp arm to his side.

"Why are you still alive?" Temari growled at the man.

"And he's even gone so far as to sign a contract with the Tengu, a contract I've waited for years to acquire" the man muttered, completely ignoring her while examining the Tengu beside her. "I must admit, the other one was a bit more destructive, though" he sighed.

"**You're quite the resilient one**" the Tengu noted. "**Rather swift, too, to avoid a killing blow such as that**" it praised. The man bowed, to Temari's confusion.

"It is unfortunate, but I doubt that I would be able to face the both of you in this state" he informed the group. "However" waves of killing intent poured from the man "please let your friend know" he looked to Temari "I will have the scroll & I will kill him" he smiled.

"Like hell you-"

"Goodbye" with that, the man vanished, leaving a small puddle of blood where he once stood.

"**I suppose I've done what was asked of me**" the old Tengu mused. "**I bid you good day**" it offered, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

"This is ridiculous" Temari sighed, rushing to check on her two guards.


	6. Recovery

Ironically, due to the ease with which the Akatsuki member had dealt with both Kyo and Souta, he had no need to use any of his more offensively oriented techniques. This meant that, while still heavily injured, nether of their wounds had brought them relatively near death.

After a bit of basic medical treatment from Temari, the two would awaken the next day with naught but a variety of broken ones (a concussion too, for Kyo) and severely damaged prides.

Shikamaru's clone had managed to bandage the wounded Nara before he could bleed to death, although he remained unconscious throughout the day, exhibiting symptoms of chakra depletion.

The tracker ninja were able to safely evacuate the fleeing villagers to a neighboring town.

Of the original fugitive team, three were captured by Shikamaru, as the other four were found dead the same day. The stolen scroll had been repossessed by Shikamaru as well.

With all things considered, excluding the partially destroyed village and casualties caused by the initial summon, the mission was quite successful.

* * *

Minato sighed as Temari gave her report. The tracking ninja duo had done their part and then some, so they had decided to head to Suna immediately. With the other three members of her team being treated, the duty fell upon her alone. As battered and bruised as the girl was she'd probably have to head to the hospital afterwards regardless.

Minato sighed again. Akatsuki was still loitering about, it would seem. Why there was a partner-less member traveling about, cutting deals with shinobi in order to acquire a specific contract was unknown.

However, with a shinobi of Konoha still unconscious possibly due to said scroll, an Akatsuki sighting to report and a few detained missing-nin with the possible answers, he would find out.

The Kazekage, Gaara, may have issued the mission, but with these factors, it became is problem as well. Of course, now he'd have to send a message and such to let him know. But first, he looked to Temari

"Thank you, Temari" he nodded to the girl. "Now, I suggest you head to the hospital too" he told her "besides, I'm sure the others would like to see you, anyway, if not for a recap of what happened" he finished. "Of course, keep in mind that the specifics should be kept out of the public, if you can" he added.

"Of course" Temari nodded. "After my team and I are deemed fit for travel, we will head back home to inform Gaara" she informed him.

"Ah, I'll be sending a message to the Kazekage shortly" Minato answered. "Take your time recuperating, since we'll have to ask the prisoners a few questions while we examine the contract, anyway."

"May I ask why?"

There's an odd set of seals on Shikamaru's arm, according to the medics" Minato half-answered.

"The prisoners are being kept here, too?" Temari continued.

"They have the most answers as to why they were making deals with Akatsuki" he replied truthfully. "Also, one of them has the same markings on her arm."

"Very well" Temari allowed, "call on me should my assistance be required" she bowed, leaving.

* * *

Shikamaru awoke to a slight pressure on his chest. This would be expected of course, given the reason he was likely sent to the hospital in the first place, the Nara reasoned, he opened his eyes to assess the lingering damage.

The eyes of a curious toddler, a distinctive ring peered down at him. For a moment, Shikamaru was confused as to why a toddler would choose to stand on his injured sleeping body, as if it was a normal thing to do, although the situation seemed familiar.

Then again, the black hair also looked familiar too. As he tilted his head in confusion, the girl mimicked with a head tilt of her own, a confused pout that Shikamaru found adorable on her face. Noting the red eyes and distinct secondary ring within, understanding dawned on Shikamaru.

"…. Troublesome" he muttered to the girl, causing her to erupt into a fit of giggles and heavily plop down onto his chest. It hurt.

"Shika-kun is up!" she announced happily, eliciting a light chuckle from a different visitor.

"Be careful Yuzuki" Kurenai Yuuhi warned her daughter "Shikamaru is a little hurt" she informed the girl.

"A little?" Shikamaru echoed, sighing.

"Do you hurt?" Yuzuki asked, still perched upon his chest with worried eyes.

"Of course not" Shikamaru sighed. "I was just a little tired, so I decided to take a nap in here" he told the girl. Kurenai quirked an eyebrow at this, shaking her head as the child admonished Shikamaru for being lazy.

"I see Yuzuki can still manage to wake you up, regardless of the situation" Kurenai commented.

"I've been unconscious for a while, then?" Shikamaru asked.

"According to Chouji and Ino, you haven't opened your eyes since you were admitted, yesterday" Kurenai nodded. "Fortunately, since you're awake now, we can assume you were simply suffering from chakra exhaustion, instead of considering whether or not the odd seals on your arm had anything to do with it" she concluded, nodding to the set of markings on his forearm.

Taking note of this for the first time, Shikamaru examined the strange tattoo of sorts. Just below the back of his wrist, eight small dots were connected to form a circle, from these dots a stream of small illegible characters appeared to spread out like a miasma, covering half of his harm and just reaching above his wrist. The pitch black color of the markings were a stark contrast to the portions of his skin between the characters.

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed, remembering the pain he felt on his arm, immediately after using the summoning technique. The placement of the seal was also different, but the spreading style of the tattoo was much too similar to a curse mark.'

As an experiment, he began to mold a small amount of chakra and was startled when a tiny percentage of it vanished, his arm burned again and the tattoo grew almost imperceptibly, since the chakra provided was so miniscule.

Shikamaru unconsciously grunted at the pain, watching the parasite on his arm warily. The Hokage would need to be made aware of this.

Having known Shikamaru for years, Kurenai had grown to understand and even label a variety of the mannerisms, expressions and moods Shikamaru occasionally went through. For this reason, when he had suddenly grown silent narrowing his eyes to glare at is arm, she figured he was lost in thought, connecting all sorts of meaning and outside thoughts or possibilities to that mark.

Yuzuki, on the other hand, was four and would not be ignored, period. When Shikamaru had gone quiet and decided to make faces at his arm with the weird drawings on it instead of listen to her, she pouted and huffed. Needless to say, it managed to break Shikamaru from his reverie, albeit more from the pain of having a person move about while on top of his wound.

"What's wrong, Yuzuki?" Shikamaru asked, voice strained in an attempt to mask his shock from the sudden pain.

"You weren't listening!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry, sorry" Shikamaru apologized half-heartedly, prompting the girl to continue whatever she had been saying.

Kurenai chuckled at this, simply watching as the two conversed.

Eventually, the medic assigned to oversee Shikamaru's recovery arrived, greeting Kurenai and gushing over Yuzuki before turning to the bedridden Nara.

"You really are some kind of stupid, aren't you?" she scolded him, crossing her arms and tapping a foot, disapproval and a small amount of concern on her face.

"It's nice to see you too, Sakura" Shikamaru sighed in greeting to the pink-haired woman.

"Shika-kun isn't stupid!" Yuzuki protested, "he's lazy" she corrected, nodding in satisfaction. Kurenai had to stifle a giggle.

"You have a point" Sakura agreed, chuckling at the Nara's expense.

"Thanks, Yu-chan" Shikamaru sighed, patting the child on the head.

"Anyway" Sakura began "this is just a checkup before we discuss your new fashion statement" she looked to his arm.

"We'll be taking our leave, then" Kurenai announced, retrieving her daughter and bidding the two farewells. "We may visit again, if necessary" she added, allowing the girl to wave goodbye as well.

"Now" Sakura sighed after the door had closed. "Would you like to tell me why you thought summoning from a contract you know nothing about, while bleeding out all over the place was a good idea" Sakura offered "or should I just beat the answer out of you, so Ino doesn't have to?" she finished.

"Is neither, an option?" Shikamaru drawled.

The medical ninja began to pop her knuckles.

"What have Ino and Chouji been up to, anyway?" he asked, attempting to change the subject.

"Visited yesterday, but had to go for a mission together, today" Sakura answered, advancing toward him.

"Okay, okay!" Shikamaru announced. "The mission itself went off without too much issue" Shikamaru stalled.

"Get to the point" Sakura prompted, hovering over the Nara.

"Akatsuki showed up, during the mission" Shikamaru growled.

Sakura's eyes widened.

"Just one of them, he apparently had something to do with the team we were pursuing" he continued "wanted the summoning contract, I guess. Took me down before I could get any concrete plan off" he sighed. "Temari covered me while I escaped, so the only support I could think of before I passed out was to send a summon, since a shadow clone in the same state I was in wouldn't be of much use" he offered.

"I see" Sakura allowed, sighing as well. "I suppose, this wasn't a situation you could've been a bit less reckless in" she continued, moving to check Shikamaru's bandages.

"Was I that bad, when everyone got here?" Shikamaru asked. The medic nodded.

"Temari burst into the village, covered in cuts and bruises she hadn't bothered tending to" she sighed. "The two shinobi accompanying you were on so many painkillers in order to mask the multitude of broken bones they received, they were practically zombies by the time they got here" she slapped his bandages.

"Hey!" Shikamaru gasped at the pain.

"And you" Sakura glared "were gasping for breath and covered in blood, draped over Temari's back" she shook her head. "You were going through such a severe state of chakra exhaustion, Temari was siphoning her own chakra into you as they made their way here" she growled. "To top it all off" she pointed a finger at the characters on his arm "whatever the hell that is, rejected most of the chakra we tried to get into you!" Shikamaru blinked.

'Interesting' he noted, as Sakura recomposed herself.

"So please, try to be even more careful in the future" Sakura asked, moving back to checking his wounds. "Everyone was worried" she added "and they'll probably want to know what happened to get you in such a state" she warned him.

"But most of you get into situations like this all of the time" Shikamaru protested.

"It isn't a situation you normally get into, though" Sakura argued. "Besides, you're part of the 'Konoha 12' and our friend, to boot" she finished. "You'll have to heal naturally, for a while" Sakura informed him "but you should be good to move around slowly, your forte" she snarked.

"Ah, you think so highly of me" Shikamaru replied.

"But of course" she agreed. "You'll have plenty of time to tell everyone about how you're a jounin now, with all of this free time on your hands" the girl smirked.

"How did you-?"

"Ino"

"Damnit Chouji" Shikamaru sighed. "Who else knows?" he asked.

"Everyone" she smiled.

Shikamaru groaned.

"It isn't every day that our resident lazy genius takes the initiative, you know" Sakura teased.

"But does it have to be a spectacle?" Shikamaru sighed. "Dealing with your team alone is troublesome enough, Haruno" he began "but now I have to deal with Neji and trying to hide from his damn eyes? Not to mention Kiba, let alone Lee" the Nara whined.

"Oh well" Sakura replied, answering half-heartedly. "Congrats on your promotion" she offered, walking to the door "now face your fate like a man, since you've put the pressure on the rest of our group, now" she explained.

"Bah, and you call me lazy" Shikamaru called as she left.

"And you have yet to prove us wrong" she answered, making her exit.

Shikamaru sighed.

'I wonder if they know where I live, too' he contemplated, removing himself from the bed.

"Well" he considered aloud, eying his branded arm "I may as well speak with the Hokage first" he decided.

* * *

A.N.- Well, shorter than some of the others, but what can you do? As usual, don't hesitate to review, your feelings about the fic are important. I think.


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